Chester Gieke: Week 1

We're back in Pleasantview's Bluewater Village, at a small house across the road from where Florence Delarosa lives.

The house is surrounded by water and has large windows at the back, as well as a porch with a grill.

Inside, there is only a small shower room with a toilet in one corner and a cheap kitchen without a fridge in the other. A small bedroom, not beig enough to hold a double bed, is the only other room separate from the open plan kitchen area.

Chester Gieke lives here. 

His family tree shows him to be the son of Carl and Lucy Gieke, but they are both deceased, and he has no known relatives. According to Maxis, "The Gieke Family is a quirky bunch. They tend to keep to themselves and pay far too much attention to the latest technology instead of people. Can Chester break the Gieke mold?" 

Chester's personal bio reads: "The quintessential Gieke, Chester can tell you all about the last time a star exploded or the latest computer games, but he doesn’t know much about real people. He’d love to meet some non-robotic friends, especially the female variant of the species." 

Fittingly, his aspiration is Knowledge. Unfortunately, he wants to use his knowlege for criminal purposes, eventually becoming Criminal Mastermind. With over 9,700 Simoleons on the bank, he can afford to buy a few bits and pieces for the house right away. 

Look at Mr Humble - he has shut himself in behind the parcel he has just delivered on Chester's front porch. Silly Mr Humble! Of course he leaves as soon as Chester has opened the parcel. 

Placing the computer on his newly bought desk, he fires it up and browses the darknet for some criminal career options. And he is lucky: Tomorrow, he can start as a Pickpocket.

But first, the welcome committee arrives, consisting of Jodie Larson, Checo Ramirez and Wanda Tinker. Chester makes sandwiches for everyone and expresses his wish to find friends here. 

With Checo's wife Lisa, he is already on good terms, but she did not come along to welcome him to the neighbourhood. 

Good part of the afternoon is spent fishing. Chester does not have much fun until he catches his first bass, and later serves it for dinner.

Chester's car pool is not due until 10:00 am, and so he can indulge in skilling all morning. 

That is, until the phone rings - it's Jodie Larson. It's nice of her to say thank you for the meals and opportunity to fish.

Chester leaves for his first day on the job in a good mood and, although he doesn't look particularly happy here, returns with a promotion to Bagman. Wanting to show extra zeal, he walks right back to work for another shift. 

It is already Wednesday by the time an exhausted, but happy Chester returns home - with a promotion to Bookie. He has the day off and can sleep in, thankfully. 

It is autumn, and Chester realises that his small chest of drawers does not really hold anything suitable for colder weather.

But before he goes shopping, he diligently acquires the creativity skill point needed for his next promotion.

Cover Me Clothing is where he intend to find new outfits.

First, he greets Nina Caliente. Jodie Larson is also here, and he says hello to her, too.

Out of the blue, Nina insults Chester! The poor man has not done anything to deserve this, honest! Nina must be in a real foul mood.

Chester flees to the side of the building, where he eats a hotdog grilled by the townie sitting on the bench with Jodie.

On Thursday, Lisa Ramirez was just about to leave, having wanted to visit her friend, when Chester's car pool pulls up.

"It's good of you to help me celebrate my promotion to Con Artist!" Several more skill points are now needed, and it will be at least a few days before Chester's next promotion. 

On Friday morning, Chester has just about enough time to make a phone call to a friend. Remember what his bio says about him wanting to get to know the "female of the species" in particular? Well, after his visit to the clothes shop and also thanks to the welcome committee, he now knows more ladies than gentlemen, at a ratio of 7:3. 

Here, he confides in one of them that yes, indeed, he would like to get married one day... not to her specifically, just saying... just in general, you know. 

After work, on a whim he decides to get rid of the easel and start to learn how to play the piano. By bedtime, he has all the required skills and can hope for a promotion tomorrow. 

No promotion the next day - it's Saturday, and Chester has the entire weekend off. 

Apart from using his free time for skilling, which gives him a head start for the following week at work, he also wants to make more friends. J

ohn Burb happened to be walking by and was asked in; Florence Delarosa and Jodie Larson arrived after he has invited them over. "So... are you a burglar or what?" Jodie bluntly asks about his career choice. Chester mumblese something about aiming higher than petty burglary, and that for him, it's all about brains and not smashing patio doors.

Winter sets in on Sunday with a first light dusting of snow.

 Chester spots Gilbert Jacquet walking by and greets him politely.

While Gilbert is fishing (I thought the pond was frozen?), Chester builds a snowman and is rather pleased with it.

Over bowls of Mac & Cheese, he tells his guest of the planet he has been observing a few nights in a row. 

"Are you looking for Aliens?" Gilbert wants to know. Everyone in Pleasantview knows about Mrs Goth's Alien abduction. It seems Chester has found a kindred spirit, as the conversation stays on the subject of stars, planets, Aliens and astronauts for the entire meal. 

The week ends with Gilbert playing a lively tune on Chester's piano, inducing him to dance.

This was a much less boring week than what it could be with a single Sim. Chester did well with skilling and career-wise, without neglecting his social life. Maybe he IS the one to break the Gieke mold, after all!

The Gavigan Family: Week 1

Welcome back to Desiderata Valley! According to Maxis, "Uprooting and moving to a new town was something that Nathan has always wanted to do. Mary loves him dearly and would follow him to the ends of the earth. Where will they end up? Will they be able to find happiness in a new location?" Well, for now, they have ended up here at 1051 West Leisure Lane. They have only just moved into this strangely windowless house.

Not much better at the back, but both garden and house "offer potential", as a real estate agent would say. 

The ground floor has a tiny room under the stairs, obviously meant for a toilet, an open plan living area and a kitchen with enough space for a small dining table and chairs. The previous owners have left a settee, a book shelf as well as basic kitchen units and appliances.

The deep red carpeting continues upstairs where all we find are the cheapest single bed, a toilet and shower. Again, there is potential! For now, the single bed will go into the larger of the two rooms, which is going to be Isaiah's room. The other one will be his parents' bedroom. 

Nathan's wish to leave his original hometown is emphasised again in his own bio, which reads: "Nathan has dreamed of getting out of his hometown for as long as he can remember. With a love of exploration, Nathan can not fathom life getting any better than this, especially with Mary and Isaiah by his side!". He is a Fortune Sim and dreams of becoming General. 

His wife Mary has "sacrificed her own desires to accommodate Nathan's dream of moving to a new location. Now that she is a mom, she hasn't made up her mind whether she is as happy here as she was repairing cars in her hometown. Only time will tell if she made the right decision!" Her typical Family Sim lifetime want is to have six grandchildren. 

This puts quite the weight on young Isaiah's shoulders! Maybe a sibling would help share the load... anyway, he "has inherited the best qualities from each of his parents. Isaiah's knack for fixing things coupled with an artistic eye may open up a future that is beautiful and bright". 

All three Gavigans have zero skills, so especially Nathan has his work cut out for him if he wants to succeed in the military.

The Gavigans have a little above 16,000 Simoleons left after purchasing the house, but because it is not yet clear when Nathan can start his career, they will be careful about spending money. For now, next to the book shelf that was alreaday there, a cheap desk, lamp and chair are set up. As a stay-at-home mother, Mary is going to do most of the cooking, so she better start learning right away. 

Meanwhile, Nathan greets the welcome committee consisting of Cynthia Kim, Peter Ottomas and Tara Kat. 

The four engage in a lively round of kicky bag - always a good way to make friends. 

As soon as they arrived at their new abode, Isaiah walked to school. Now he is back, and Mary helps him with his homework. The bed was already here, and now a desk and chair are set up for the boy. Other items will follow, but hey, they have only just moved in.

Peter Ottomas was part of the welcome committee, and now his mother Dora rings the Gavigans' home to ask them to join her family for a meal at the Oresha Family Dining.

Oh! Audrey DeBateau again? No, this townie's name is Elle Fairchild. I suspect there is a doppelganger of Audrey's in every neighbourhood. 

Anyway, the Ottomas family are friendly and welcoming, as the Gavigans find out.

There isn't a large enough table at the restaurant, in spite of it calling itself FAMILY dining, and so the Gavigans and Ottomas' split up. A good time is had by all, but straight after the meal, the Gavigans head home - it is well past bedtime for Isaiah, and to be honest, Nathan is rather tired, too.

Early on Tuesday morning, Nathan finds an opening for Recruits on Desiderata Valley's military website.

With him at work and Isaiah at school, Mary goes about some houshold jobs when she suddenly feels queasy... and ends up having to throw up twice.

She is VERY hungry afterwards and eats not just one, but two bowls of yesterday's vegetable soup, in spite of it being slightly burnt. 

Nathan arrives home with a promotion to Elite Forces and a colleague, Jessica Picaso (not pictured). 

Isaiah is home from school, and over a fresh batch of vegetable soup, his Mum informs him that he will soon have a little brother or sister.

Jessica Picaso seems to have no problem talking about woohoo with her military colleague's wife, even though the two ladies have only just met.

Isaiah's room looks nicer now with a new bed, bedside table and lamp. And the boy proudly displays the goofy pic he took yesterday at the restaurant's photo booth :-D 

On Wednesday, Mary wakes up hours before her husband and her son. Her pregnancy is now visible. 

The plumbers have been, and the bathroom is now equipped with a bathtub and sink, and the toilet has been replaced. Mary enjoys a comfortable bubble bath in the quiet morning hours.

One of the perks of Nathan's promotion is a day off, and he enjoys having lunch with his wife. "I won't fit into my dress for a while," she smiles at him. 

Being a loving husband and father, Nathan dedicates good part of his day off to house work, enabling Mary to get some badly needed rest. 

He also makes sure everything is in order outside the house.

Over their tea, Isaiah asks his Dad whether his Mum told him that there will soon be two children, not just he. "Yes, she has told me," Nathan smiles.

Just before sunset, Gabriella Newson walks by, and Isaiah greets his class mate before she quickly walks home.

On Thursday morning, Isaiah has cookies for breakfast - his Dad has already left for work, and his Mum is still asleep. Never mind, it's a one-off; Mary usually makes sure that her family eats healthy food.

She is now heavily pregnant and finds bending down for the paper hard, but she wants to do the crossword.

Isaiah brings home his first A+ report. Mary's proud face says it all! 

Nathan is home, too, and just as he takes care of the bills, family friend Julien Cooke walks by.

"I've heard of your promotion; well done, Nate!" And Julien is right - Nathan is now a Drill Instructor. 

By Friday morning, Mary looks exhausted even after just getting out of bed, and she is constantly hungry. 

When she goes into labour, I truly expect her to have twins.

But only one baby is born - here is little Joseph! As mentioned before, now that I am playing all Maxis-made households in their original set-up, I want to name babies after someone found in their family tree. For the Gavigangs, however, theirs only shows Nathan, Mary, Isaiah and now Joseph. No parents of Mary and Nathan, just as there are no Maxis-made pictures for them. To stay in line with their biblical names, I have chosen Joseph.

Nathan happily cuddles his newborn son. "Welcome to the Gavigan family, dear little Joseph," he murmurs softly.

"Mum, can I play with my baby brother after school?" Isaiah asks. Mary kindly explains to him that he will have to wait a little before Joseph is big enough to make a playmate for him. 

Nathan returns from work with yet another promotion. As Junior Officer, the obstacle course is available to him, and he makes use of it right away.

He rolls a series of buy-me wishes, all kitchen-related, and now the kitchen looks much better, and Mary's meals will be even tastier and more nutritious than before.

A happy family sit down for tea that evening! 

Nathan has all weekend off, and of course Isaiah does not have to go to school, either. With the entire family at home, the Gavigans invite the Kims over. Their son Justin is Isaiah's age.

But I have to say the two boys do not hit it off immediately. Jokes work well enough, but Isaiah talking about anything else, or attempting to tell a story, result in negative reactions from Justin.

It is therefore with some relief that he spots Tina Traveller walking by - another kid who goes to the same school.

Finally, the kids have real fun together, when Tina initiates a water balloon fight on what is probably the last afternoon of this year warm enough for this kind of outdoor game.

Isaiah is happy when he discovers that it has been snowing on Sunday morning - and right on the first day of winter, too! 

His parents take him to Kiddie Care Castle - it will be the last outing like that with his parents, because next time we visit the Gavigans, Isaiah will turn into a teenager, with different interests.

At the "castle", he meets Gallagher Newson. The Newsons live on the same street as the Gavigans.

Then he discovers the crafting tables and draws a picture.

Meanwhile, Nathan meets John Mole, while Mary has made a batch of her famous vegetable soup for everyone to enjoy.

Back home, she greets baby Joseph enthusiastically: "Mummy is home, sweetie!" The nanny leaves with a generous tip.

Christmas is coming up, and Nathan and Mary go to some lengths to decorate for it. Although not wealthy, they now have enough money on the bank to allow for such luxuries. 

And the spirit of Christmas is truly felt when they invite an unkown townie to join them for dinner. If my plan works out, Camryn Lee will one day become a fully fledged resident of Desiderata Valley. 

I really enjoyed this week and can't wait to get back! Isaiah will be a teenager then, and his little brother a toddler. Nathan hopefully will advance further in his career, while Mary has a long wait before her lifetime want gets a chance at being fulfilled.